1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmission shift assembly for a vehicle and a method of monitoring the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Current column shift technologies use a steering column mounted device to move an automatic transmission through a plurality of gear positions. The gear positions may include a park position, a reverse position, a neutral position and a plurality of drive positions. The transmission includes a cam and a follower moving relative to each other. The cam includes a plurality of peaks spaced from each other with a valley disposed between each of the peaks to define the gear positions. A lever is coupled to the transmission for moving the cam in response to selection of one of the gear positions. A spool shaft is coupled to the lever and the cam such that movement of the lever causes movement to the cam. A transmission sensor senses a rotational displacement of the spool shaft to sense the gear position of the transmission. However the transmission sensor is unable to determine if the follower is disposed properly in one of the valleys of the desired gear positions. Improper position of the follower in the cam may cause damage to the transmission.
In addition, current technologies use an ignition lock mechanism to prevent removal of a key from an ignition until the transmission is put in the park position. However, the ignition lock mechanism requires additional components and manufacturing to a portion of the steering column.
Therefore there remains a need to develop a transmission shift assembly and a method of monitoring the same for a vehicle having a linkage with a plurality of sensors to sense whether one of a plurality of gear positions was proper achieved and to potentially eliminate the ignition lock mechanism.